March Favourites | 2015

I'm still struggling to get my head around where the months are going, it seems like yesterday I was sat around the table feasting on a Christmas dinner. Anyway, facing the facts, March is slowly coming to an end, so I thought what's not a better time to write a monthly favourites.

 

Last week, my parents came back from Portsmouth shopping with a little gift for me;a gorgeous Jack Wills bikini top (£3). Please acknowledge the price tag, Jack Wills bikinis are normally around £30, so I was super happy to have gotten this so cheap!

A lot lately washing my hair has seemed such a chore, especially on school nights. Batiste Clean and Classic dry shampoo (£2.99) has literally saved me on a regular basis, and I love the scent of this one.

I may have borrowed the very gift I gave my mum for mothers day, but this Sally Hansen So Much Fawn nail polish (£6.99) is gorgeous, perfect for spring!

Foundations and I rarely get along, I hate the feeling of heavy product on my face. But this new Maybelline Flawless Nude foundation (£8.99) intrigued me, and on my skin it is so light I can hardly feel anything.

Another favourite of mine has been this EOS lipbalm (£12.00). I've been using it for a year straight and, amazingly, there is still so much product left. 
  
Big brows are all the range this year, and myself having not the thickest of brows, I have loved using my Maybelline Brow Drama (£4.99) to add a little more volume to them.

Finally, I couldn't not include my all time favourite Rimmel Stay Matte Powder (£3.99). Especially since I started a full skincare routine, I've noticed my skin becoming a lot more oilier, but a few dabs of this powder instantly takes any shine on my face away.

What have your favourites been this March?

A Topshop Ado

Topshop Top | Topshop Leggings | Topshop Boots

Recently, I headed up to London to see Cats the musical, and voila, this is my outfit. Surprise, surprise, it is all black and white (unless you can count the top as cream and navy?) but I desperately wanted to wear my new top! I suppose I went for a comfy look with the leggings, but the boots dressed up the whole outfit. My only advice is don't wear heeled boots if you are going to be doing a lot of walking around London, because by the end of the night my feet ached and I had developed a couple of nasty blisters.

New Skincare | No7

I have been through multiple brands of skin care, some I've liked and some my skin has despised. For the last year, I've had a steady skin care routine, all of the products being from Clinique. However, after adding up the total cost of how much I was spending on Clinique skincare, I came to realise that my bank was breaking and urgent changes had to be made. I still use the Clinique foaming cleansing, seeing as this is the cheapest and works wonders, but the rest of the products in my routine had to be changed.

After asking many people online, I hunted around the drugstore looking for a brand which would suit me. My mum, in fact, recommended I tried No7, as it was cheap enough and had a 3 for 2 sale on in boots. I picked up a pot of Beautiful Skin Day Cream, a pot of Beautiful Skin Night Cream and a bottle of the Soft & Soother Gentle Toner.

So far, my first impressions are good. I feel as if this brand works well with my Clinique cleanser as my skin hasn't broken out anymore than it had beforehand and it is beginning to become brighter and healthier. The only thing I regret doing is purchasing the normal/dry day cream, the normal/oily skin would have suited me better but unfortunately there were none left and I was rather desperate.

What is your go-to skin care brand?  (I need some more suggestions!)

Black and Gold | Statement Jewellery

 

Jewellery is something I've collected from a young age, yet I always find it hard to wear or sometimes I just completely forget. But in all honesty sometimes outfits look that one bit better when paired with a watch or necklace, so I thought I'd share my current favourite jewellery pieces with you.

Abbott Lyon Watch
This watch is absolutely gorgeous, think class and elegance. You can never go wrong with a gold and black leather strapped watch. The gold, white and black fit together perfectly to create the sleek element. It can easily be dressed up or down to suit any occasion- a couple of days ago I wore this with jeans and a jumper and I loved how this watch brought the whole outfit together.

If you are interested in purchasing or browsing the Abbott Lyon Watch collection, click here or visit: http://www.abbottlyon.com/

Topshop Statement Necklace
Without a doubt, Topshop does make exceptionally good statement necklaces, and they are sold at a reasonable price too. I've had this one for a while now, and I find I can literally pair it with anything to complete a look. The spikes add an aspect of boldness to the look, but it is evened out with the white and gold colours. Unfortunately, as I brought this a couple of years ago, it is not sold anymore, but you can browse other Topshop necklaces here.

There will be an outfit post for both of these statement pieces soon.

What are your statement jewellery pieces?

Spring Has Sprung

Believe it or not, Spring has finally sprung in to action here in the UK. Being the crazy, summer-obsessed girl I am, I jumped at the chance of wearing my new jumpsuit from Sheinside when I saw the glimpse of sunlight. It obviously wasn't warm enough to expose too much flesh, which is why I paired my denim jack from Topshop with it. Overall, I was quite pleased with what I'd put together, this will definitely be one of my go-to evening outfits for when I go on holiday in a couple of weeks time. Or, I may pair this jumpsuit with a cardi and flip-flops to throw on over a bikini down the beach. Either way, the jumpuit itself is a very versatile statement clothing item, something I urge everyone to go and check out (link here) considering it was ridiculously cheap at £10 (hurry whilst it stays in the sale!)

What is your staple clothing item for this Spring?

Cabana Glama

I am aware that this palette is quite an old one from benefit, but it certainly is one to still impress. For an overview, the palette comes with four makeup products and two brushes, one for eyes and one for cheeks. On the lid, there is a large mirror which is big enough to do your makeup in if you are on the go. 

 

Some Kind-a Gorgeous Foundation Faker

I still cannot believe that this is a foundation, on my skin it literally feels like I'm wearing nothing, which is good since I can't stand the feeling of product on my face. Yet, in the little box it comes in, the product was ever so oily, so I was thankful to find out that this is a cream to powder foundation and it mattifies extremely quickly. The shade which comes with the palette is medium, arguably a tad too dark for my relatively pale skin, but once I have touched up with a lighter concealer everything matches. However, I doubt I will ever purchase the full pot of this considering there are many alternatives/ dupes from the drugstore which are half the price of this. 

 

Posietint Cheek and Lip Stain

This acting blush/lippy really is quite spectacular, I prefer it a lot more than my benetint and I feel like the lighter pink colour is a better match for my skin tone. The sample size is disappointingly quite small, but the colour pay off for this product makes up for this fact.

 

Hoola Bronzer

One of my favourite things in here is this bronzer, pretty much a beauty must have for any makeup-savvy. Everything from the colour to how easily it is applied, makes this bronzer my all time favourite. It is completely matte with no shimmer, and the colour intensity is not too hard which is very relevant when applying to your cheeks if you don't want harsh lines. I happen to have another Hoola bronzer sample, but when both run out I will be looking to splurge and purchase the full size.

 

Eye-shadow Trio

The three colours within this palette are:

 • Cocoa Pizzazz- a dark, chocolate brown colour with a hint of shimmer, which I tend to blend into my outer corner and crease

• Bronze Buzz- a lighter, shimmery brown which I apply all over my lid
• Peach Fizz- a highlighting pink toned shadow which I also apply all over my lid

All three of these shadows have an amazing colour pay off and are very easily blended. These tones definitely create more of a natural, summery look compared to a harsh, smoky eye.

 

Final Thoughts

Overall, I am impressed with this palette and is one I will ensure is with me when on the move or on holiday etc. On a daily basis, I use the eye-shadows and bronzer, not so much the foundation or cheek and lip tint but they are nice add-ons to the palette. I think this set can be purchased at around the £20 mark, which isn't bad for four benefit products plus two brushes.

The Warmer Side Of Winter

Since getting my new camera, photography has been a budding hobby of mine. I especially have the urge to pull out my camera of an evening, when the sun is setting, creating this picturesque view. These pictures were taken over the course of January and February, hence why the sun is a variety of colours. Enjoy this look-book of sunsets, seeing these photos definitely enhances the warmer aspect of winter for me.

(all photos have been taken by me, so please do not use them)

 

 

February Favourites | 2015

A monthly favourites? Wow, how rare! Seeing as I picked up a few more bits and bobs than usual this month, I decided to bundle it together in a favourites.

First up, I have candles. There's no surprise that they are Yankee candles either!
Waikiki Melon Yankee Candle - This candle basically smells like spring, possibly a mixture of spring and summer together. I cannot wait until around May time, when I'll light this of an evening, whilst the sun is still setting.
Salted Caramel Yankee Candle - This may contrast a little to the last candle, considering this candle has a very 'christmassy' scent to it. Nevertheless, this smells gorgeous in my room, literally just think of salted caramel.
Heart Shaped Candle Holder - Here we have a dainty, white candle holder, something which will fit the Yankee voltives in quite nicely.

Moving swiftly on to makeup, this February I've picked up quite a few items.
Heart Patterned Clinique Makeup Bag - I actually got this makeup bag free when I purchased two more face washes, and luckily enough it came with a fair amount of goodies inside. Only a couple are in this favourites though considering the majority was skin care which I am yet to use.

Clinique Trio Palette - The first thing the bag contained was a trio palette, consisting of two eye shadows and a larger blush. I'm not one for wearing blusher or eye shadow on a daily basis, but I have a feeling that this has changed that forever (or until I run out).

Clinique Mini Perfume - Let's take a minute to appreciate a mini perfume with a spray pump. Normally, all I can find are the ones where you have to literally tip the bottle upside down and tap it on your skin, but the problem of wasting half a bottle of perfume has been solved! This also smells gorgeous, a mixture of fresh and floral. 

Clinique Chubby Stick - I've lost count of how many Clinique chubby sticks I've gotten through, I suppose they are my holy grail lip product! So, I was pretty excited when I found a new colour waiting for me.

Maybelline Dream Flawless Nude - I don't think I've ever managed to steer away from a Rimmel base, until I picked up this new little saviour. I cannot stress how light this foundation is, so if you only need a small amount of coverage, this is the foundation I recommend.

Maybelline Brow Drama - For over a year, I've sat on the side lines and observed the hype about brow gels, they had never really bothered me before. But, seeing as thicker eyebrows are in this year and mine are relatively thin, I jumped on the bandwagon and purchased a gel myself. Also it was 3 for 2 in boots!

What have you been loving this month?